Severe weather, mechanical failure, or human error can result in a loss of electric power to an entire area serviced by an electric utility company. More common, however, are smaller localized outages affecting pockets of customers.
In many instances, a power company relies on its customers to report power outages or other service interruptions. Many power companies now have automated telephone systems or web-enabled resources (e.g., websites or mobile apps), through which customers can provide notice of service interruptions. However, voluntary reporting from customers may not provide a power company with timely, comprehensive, or reliable notification of a power outage.
In some instances, a power company may be able to automatically detect a power outage to some extent through a diagnostic network. However, many such networks are currently only available in limited areas and may be susceptible to physical damage that may prevent network nodes from reporting. For example, if a fallen tree takes down a power line, reporting an associated outage through power-line communication (PLC) may not be possible.
Many users purchase Internet access through an Internet service provider (ISP). ISPs are also susceptible to service disruptions and face many of the same issues as power companies in detecting and assessing outages. Service outages resulting in a loss of Internet connectivity are frustrating and debilitating both to the direct customers of the ISPs, and also to third-parties that rely on reaching customers through their Internet connections.
ISPs typically have some ability to detect service outages. For example, an ISP may be able to automatically detect a loss of communication with customer premise equipment (e.g., a router) or plant equipment (e.g., a cable head-end). However, physical damage to the ISP's network may still impede detection and accurate assessment of the extent of a service outage. Moreover, an ISP may be unable to detect or effectively assess the scope of more complicated issues resulting in an effective denial or loss of service to customers, such as a misconfigured DNS. Accordingly, an ISP may also rely on customers to report service outages or changes in service quality.
Power companies, ISPs, and other utilities often provide notice of detected service outages through their phone systems and publicly accessible portals. However, this information may be delayed or suppressed such that it does not accurately reflect current outages within a service area. Accordingly, customers and interested third-parties, such as web service providers, may not have access to up-to-date information regarding service outages.